![]() ![]() “It was winter.” (February 2017, after the company’s busy holiday season). As for managing during the construction phase, “We have a microwave and a hot plate in the basement,” Ginger shrugs. Indeed, the culinary-minded Ginger is delighted with a pull-out drawer for spices, another for utensils, and yet another for the all-important Kitchen-Aid. ![]() Ginger had hoped to repaint the old cabinets, but new cabinetry fashioned by Marsh Kitchens turned out to be “a better long-term solution,” Adams says, in part because she was able to create yet more illusion of space by extending them all the way to the ceiling, and because new cabinetry provided her client with better storage. She went with a white color scheme (actually a tone called “linen” with a gray wash) to create airiness in the space, which, given the deck just beyond the back door, appears larger. Her solution? “I designed an island to include a banquette in one piece,” she explains. “Function was first,” Adams says, reiterating Ginger’s concerns about the kitchen’s lack of flow. She was very open about what she wanted this to be - and open to our suggestions.” “Who better than someone local and someone you know?” Ginger posits. But how to effect that relaxed, open coastal vibe without replicating the bright palette so prevalent in the merchandise from the Ayadogdus’s workaday world? The answer, as it turns out, was right in the family’s own backyard: Maria Adams of Maria Adams Designs was a sponsor of Oak Ridge Elementary School, which the Ayadogdu children attended. She desired a similar sort of clarity, and lightness and brightness from her surroundings at home, not only in the kitchen, but also in the adjoining den and dining room. With the obvious exception of recent hurricane victims, she maintains “there aren’t many people the beach isn’t a happy place. “It’s like, ‘Aaaaah!’ You can relax,” she adds. Emblazoned with colorful, whimsical designs and taglines - (“Living the Mom Life,” “My Y’all Is Authentic,” “Suck it Up, Buttercup,”) - the gear is popular at vacation destinations, particularly the beach, “our ultimate destination spot,” says Ginger. The operation expanded to a chain of stores, Dazzle Up, in area shopping centers, and by 2010, the Ayadogdus decided to “cut out the middleman” and produce their own T-shirts. The business started in 2005 as a modest kiosk at Four Seasons Town Centre, where Ginger and Giorgio sold “instant gratification” gifts - items like T-shirts, mugs, and such, almost inevitably imprinted with a customer’s photograph. She needed something more functional.Įspecially considering her full days as co-owner along with her husband, of Simply Southern, a national wholesaler of T-shirts, hats, bags and an assortment of gifts - key fobs, lanyards, cupholders, phone sleeves and the like. In addition, the wood-stained cabinetry was dark and a bit dated, and the breakfast area was separated from the aforementioned island. ![]() “The kitchen had a dark countertop, a huge island with only two barstools and a tiny refrigerator,” Ginger recalls. Ginger Ayadogdu (pronounced “EYE-uh-doh-doh”) didn’t waste any time shortly after she and her husband, Giorgio, and their three children moved into their Oak Ridge home. But if you’re running your own business, raising children, and you like to cook, at some point, you just have to take the plunge. ![]() T o remodel or not to remodel? Given the choice of living through a complete kitchen overhaul or walking on shards of glass, many homeowners would choose the latter. A kitchen remodel and refreshed décor open up an Oak Ridge home ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |